Is there any risk of catching infections diseases such as HIV or Hepatitis?
No. Most pathogens grow rapidly at temperatures between 4ºC and 60ºC, what Food Safety and Inspectors call the “danger zone”. Most disease-causing bacteria are killed at temperatures above 60ºC. The temperature of wax is most effective and comfortable at around 60ºC – 75ºC, which means most disease-causing bacteria are killed in the wax pot. The fully heated wax pot is too hot, making it hostile for bacterial growth. Bacteria also need moisture for growth and there is no moisture in depilatory wax. Pasteurization, which occurs at 70ºC renders the Hepatitis B virus inactive, meaning there is little to no risk of spreading HBV in this manner, nor HIV, which is much less resilient than HBV. In fact, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) does not consider this situation to be enough of a risk to even warrant testing for disease transmission due to waxing services. (Source: Miladay’s Hair Removal Techniques by Helen R Bickmore 2004 Thomson Delimar Lerning).
